Container of synthetic plastic material

ABSTRACT

A container of synthetic plastic material has a circumferential wall and a transverse end wall provided with an opening which is bound by an outwardly extending substantially cylindrical neck having an outer open end. A support ring is frictionally received in the neck and includes a cylindrical portion which is provided adjacent the outer end of the neck with an inwardly projecting circumferential bead and with an outwardly projecting circumferential bead which latter is embedded in the material of the neck. An annular spout is partly received within the ring in sealing and supporting engagement with the inwardly projecting circumferential bead thereof.

United States Patent [191 Kimm 1451 Apr. 16, 1974 CONTAINER OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIAL [75] Inventor:

[22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 330,869

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/1967 Klygis 150/.5 3,623,623 11 1971 Bauer 3,656,668 4 1972 Liebertz 215 31 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 992,750 5/1965 Great Britain 215/31 138,887 l/l953 Sweden 150/.5

Primary Examiner-Herbert F. Ross Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker 5 7] ABSTRACT A container of synthetic plastic material has a circumferential wall and a transverse end wall provided with an opening which is bound by an outwardly extending substantially cylindrical neck having an outer open end. A support ring is frictionally received in the neck and includes a cylindrical portion which is provided adjacent the outer end of the neck with an inwardly projecting circumferential bead and with an outwardly projecting circumferential bead which latter is embedded in the material of the neck. An annular spout is partly received within the ring in sealing and supporting engagement with the inwardly projecting circumferential bead thereof.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures CONTAINER OF SYNTHETIC PLASTIC MATERIAL SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a container in general, and more particularly to a container of synthetic plastic material. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to the inlet and outlet construction of such a container.

Containers of synthetic plastic materials are already known, for instance in form of barrels or the like, for storing various liquids such as water, milk, beer or the like, as well as for other substances such as powders or in fact any types of materials that can be stored in such containers. Containers of this type are provided with an outlet spout whichcan be closed in sealing relationship, the purpose of course being to prevent undesired entry of contaminants and exit of the contents of the container.

It is already known to construct the outlet spout as a complete pre-fabricated unit including the closure cap, so as to be able to connect it with the container itself without having to carry out any fabricating steps having to do with the production of the outlet spout unit. Evidently, the unit and the container may be of different materials. Initially, the concept of producing the outlet spout as a unit which could be connected with the container when the latter was manufactured, was developed for use with containers of sheet metal. However, as synthetic plastic containers became more and more feasible in use, and more and more popular, it was adapted for use with this type of container also. Unfortunately, the trend towards plastic containers having thin or very thin walls has brought about difficulties which make it impossible to use the known prefabricated outlet spout units.

These problems are of various types. For instance, if the container is a thin-walled blow molded container,

difficulties in sealing have been experienced between the neck of the opening in the container and the spout unit which is mounted in this neck and opening. On the one hand, it is difficult to control the dimensional tolerances of the neck very closely, and on the other hand, the neck is thin and is capable of yielding, especially if the container is filled with material that can move to and fro and which, if agitated violently enough, will tend to deform the material of the container neck to the extent where it will move away from the inserted outlet spout unit.

On the other hand, it is not possible to mechanically change the configuration or dimension of the neck of the container to compensate for dimensional deviations, because the material thickness of the neck is the same as that of the container wall, that is thin in the type of container under discussion. This is insufficient material to carry out any such changes. A seemingly evident solution to this, namely to make the thickness of the neck greater than that of the remainder of the wall of the container, is impossible because in the blow molding operation the manufacturing considerations involved make it impossible to do so. Moreover, an increase in thickness would result in an increase in shrinkage stresses in the material and this would increase the tendency towards deformation of the material.

An attempt to overcome these difficulties is repreunit inwardly towards the interior of the container, and to provide several elastic sealing rings on the exterior of the unit which engage the inner side of the neck of the container in a manner analogous to a labyrinth seal. The inner edge of the spout unit snaps with an outwardly extending projection behind the inner end of the neck of the container. The elastic sealing rings are intended to overcome tolerance variations as well as to provide a seal even if the material of the neck yields in response to the agitation of the inner contents. This construction did not, however, fulfill the expectations placed upon it. Instead, it was observed that additional disadvantages accrued, such as the fact that the elastic mounting of the unit in the container neck due to the presence of the sealing rings permits displacement of the unit and transfers to the longitudinal axes of the neck and increases the danger that leakage will develop. Moreover, extending the axial length of the spout unit means that 1 the neck must similarly be lengthened. Containers of the type here in question are, however, in many instances required to be capable of being stacked. This means that the spout unit must not extend beyond the plane of the container end wall in which it is provided. Thus, the container end wall must be provided with a depression in which the spout unit is located, and the provision of such a depression, especially of the increased depth necessary by making the spout unit longer, results in stretching of the material of the wall and in a reduction of the wall thickness leading to further difficulties. Moreover, the liquid level within a container so constructed rises only to the lowermost end of the depression formed in the end wall, because in the space the lowermost end of the depression and the end wall itself an air cushion develops which prevents the level of liquid from extending upwardly beyond the lowermost level or end of the depression. Thus, the deeper the depression the more valuable interior space of the container will be lost. Finally, if such a container, especially a thin walled container, is subjected to stresses acting in certain directions, this will have the result of forcing the spout unit to rise out of the depression, by deforming the material of the end wall in which the depression is formed so that the outer end of the spout unit is forced to rise out of the depression, and repeated such movements will result in the formation of cracks in the container material as well as in consequent leakages.

All of this is, of course, most disadvantageous and re quires correction, especially in view of the still increasing popularity of such synthetic plastic containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a container of synthetic plastic material which is not possessed of these disadvantages.

Still more specifically the present invention has as an object to provide a synthetic plastic container having an outlet and inlet construction which avoids the disadvantages mentioned above.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container so constructed which can readily be produced as a thin walled blow molded container with a short neck and a correspondingly shallow depression in the end wall in which the neck and the spout unit are provided.

In keeping with these objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a container, in particular in a combination in such a container which comprises a circumferential wall, and a transverse end wall at one end of the circumferential wall and provided with an opening mounted by an outwardly extending substantially cylindrical neck having an outer end. A support ring is frictionally received within the confines of the neck and includes a cylindrical portion provided adjacent the outer end with an inwardly projecting circumferential bead and with an outwardly projecting circumferential bead which is at least partly embedded in the material of the neck. An annular spout is partly received within the confines of the ring in sealing and supported engagement with the inwardly projecting circumferential bead of the latter.

The ring stabilizes the neck, without requiring any operations to change the dimensions of the neck. It provides a non-yielding seat for the spout and makes it possible to keep the neck extremely short. Tests have been carried out with a container constructed according to the present invention, in which the container was filled and dropped from varying substantial heights; the result was in all instances that the outlet arrangement was and remained tight and sealed.

According to a further concept of the invention the inner axial end of the ring is advantageously provided with a inwardly extendingannular flange which is provided with radially outwardly extending circumferentially distributed recesses, a construction which not only serves to stiffen the ring further but makes it possible to maintain it against tilting on the blow molding mandrel as the container is being blow molded.

The outlet opening of the outwardly projecting portion of the spout is closed by tear-off foil or plate and over this stays secured a threaded closure cap having screw threads which cooperate with screw threads on the outer portion of the spout. Thus, the container is reliably closed and sealed completely tightly. This seal is further facilitated in that the radial faces of the neck and of a flange provided on the spout are flush with one another, and that their circumferential surfaces which extend normal to these radial faces are in abutment with one another. This makes it impossible to lift out the spout with the use of a tool, and provides a guarantee against unauthorized access to the interior of the container, for instance for purposes of withdrawing all or a part of its contents and falsifying the remainder of the contents, if any.

The novel features which are considered as charac-' teristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line A-B of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top-plan view of FIG. 1, with portions omitted for the sake of clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing now in detail it will be seen that the container is shown fragmentairly. It may be in the form of a barrel or of any other suitable configuration which does not in itself form a part of the present invention.

The container has an end wall the outer general plane of which is designated with reference numeral 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The end wall is provided with a depression 9 and with an opening which is located within this depression and bounded by a neck 3 extending within the depression towards the general plane 10. Embedded in this neck 3 is the pre-fabricated ring 1 the outer circumferential surface of which becomes bonded or heat-welded with the inner circumferential surface of the neck 3 during the blow molding operation in which the container itself is produced and during which the ring 1 is united with the neck 3. The flange 2 of the ring 1 is similarly anchored in the neck 3. Opposite the flange 2 there is provided an inwardly extending circumferential flange or bead 4 which constitutes an abutment for the filing and withdrawing spout 5 which is sealingly accommodated within the confines of the ring 1.

The ring 1 has an inner axial end 6 which is provided with an annular flange extending inwardly towards the center plane of the neck 3, having an inner diameter corresponding at least substantially to the inner'diameter of the flange 4. This inner flange 6 is provided with radially outwardly extending circumferentially distributed recesses (illustrated but not provided with reference numerals) which are provided for reasons of manufacturing considerations. In the illustrated embodiment they are thus provided three support portions at the flange 6, with which the latter engages the nonillustrated blowing mandrel so that the ring can be supported on this mandrel while the latter is used for blow molding the container with which the ring is to be connected. The upper outer end of the ring engages over its entire periphery, that is the entire inner periphery of the inner flange 4, the blow molding mandrel whereby the ring is reliably secured on the mandrel against tilting during the blow molding operation.

When the container is blow molded and has the ring 1 incorporated in it during such blow molding operation, the spout 5 is pushed into the confines of the ring 1, being able to snap in due to its slightly elastically deformable character. It has a projection which in cross section is of saw tooth-shaped configuration and which, when the spout 5 is pushed into the ring 1, it will snap sealingly behind the sharp-edged inner flange 4 of the ring 1 as illustrated, abutting the flange 4, whereas an outwardly extending annular flange 7 of the spout 5 abuts the outer end face of the ring 1 as shown. The outer radial surface of the flange 7 and that of the neck 3 are flush with one another as shown, whereas the circumferential edge faces which extend axially of the neck (and thus normal to the aforementioned radial surfaces) and are provided on the flange 7 and neck 1 are in abutment.

Outwardly of the flange 7 the spout has a portion 8 which is in the illustrated embodiment provided with exterior screw threads capable of meshing with the interior screw threads of a closure cap 11. Because it is desired that another container be capable of being stacked on top of the end wall provided with the inlet and outlet arrangement, the outer end face of the cap 11 extends either shorter or at most into the general plane 10, but not outwardly beyond the same.

Synthetic plastic materials for the production of such containers are of course well known and require no detailed discussion, but it is pointed that for instance polypropylene or similar plastics can be utilized.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a container of synthetic plastic material, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential fines of said neck and including a cylindrical portion provided adjacent said outer end with an inwardly projecting circumferential bead and with an outwardly projecting circumferential bead which is at least partly embedded inthe material of said neck; and I an annular spout partly received within the confines of said ring in sealing and supported engagement with said inwardly projecting circumferential bead.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said walls, ring and spout are of synthetic plastic material.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, further comprising a closure cap for said spout; and cooperating screw threads on said cap and spout for releasibly connecting the former to the latter.

4. A combination as defined in claim 2, said ring having inner end portions remote from said outer end and provided with a radially inwardly extending flange whose inner diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of said neck.

5. A combination as defined in claim 4, said flange being provided with circumferentially spaced radially outwardly extending recesses.

6. A combination as defined in claim 2, said spout having a radially outwardly extending flange portion having a radial surface which is flush with an outer axial end face of said neck.

7. A combination as defined inclaim 6, said flange portion and said neck each having a circumferential face extending axially of said container and normal to said radial surface and said axial end face, respectively; and wherein said faces are in abutment with one another. 

1. In a container, a combination comprising a circumferential wall; a transverse end wall at one end of said circumferential wall and provided with an opening bounded by an outwardly extending substantially cylindrical neck having an outer end; a support ring frictionally received within the confines of said neck and including a cylindrical portion provided adjacent said outer end with an inwardly projecting circumferential bead and with an outwardly projecting circumferential bead which is at least partly embedded in the material of said neck; and an annular spout partly received within the confines of said ring in sealing and supported engagement with said inwardly projecting circumferential bead.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said walls, ring and spout are of synthetic plastic material.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 2, further comprising a closure cap for said spout; and cooperating screw threads on said cap and spout for releasibly connecting the former to the latter.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 2, said ring having inner end portions remote from said outer end and provided with a radially inwardly extending flange whose inner diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of said neck.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 4, said flange being provided with circumferentially spaced radially outwardly extending recesses.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 2, said spout having a radially outwardly extending flange portion having a radial surface which is flush with an outer axial end face of said neck.
 7. A combination as defined in claim 6, said flange portion and said neck each having a circumferential face extending axially of said container and normal to said radial surface and said axial end face, respectively; and wherein said faces are in abutment with one another. 